Change
by set-it-to-zero
Summary: Times are changing in Tellius. New inventions are revolutionizing travel, light, and even the way messages are sent. Peace is a welcome break, but when a patrol of Gallian warriors go missing and the lone survivor is found, there is one thing that the mercenaries understand: the feral ones are back. T, Soren/Mia and assorted pairings.
1. Chapter 1

"They're saying that one day everyone will be traveling through balloon," Mia excitedly informed the other mercenaries, reading off of the printed pamphlet that had been handed out to all the viewers. She looked at the hot air balloon with suspicion, as did most of the others. It didn't look like it could fly, even though there were reports of it doing so. "How do you steer it?" She wondered aloud, handing the pamphlet to Mist to read. Soren shrugged, eyes stuck on the machine they had come to see that day. He had been reading about all of these new technologies, and while he could appreciate something like the printing press (though it didn't work on tomes) he was unable to understand something like the hot air balloon.

"It's slower than a horse, Titania. And it looks a lot more dangerous." Mist frowned as she looked at the printed pictures showing the balloon, a big red and gold thing, flying above the treetops. The basket seemed pathetically small compared to the balloon itself. "I think it won't replace the horse, though it might be a fun thing to try someday." Soren rolled his eyes as the group started to move, not wanting to be stuck in the back. Boyd nodded along to the conversation, trying to pay attention but also having his hands full with the twins. Well, Castor more than Pollux, but they both were curious about this new place with new people.

"But still, Mist. Don't you think it would be fun to fly like one of the bird laguz someday?" Rhys smiled at the idea, looking at Titania who seemed stuck on how _would_ you turn the machine. She blinked and looked down, nodding and smiling back. "It does look slow, though… Are we sure it can even fly?" He asked. Soren sighed. He had been stuck listening to the other mercenaries prattle on for the last few _days_ about the coming hot air balloon exhibit. Of course he already knew the answers to all of their questions, but he was in no mood to humor them. They were already spending a whole day "enjoying" themselves and going to this thing in the first place. Though, come to think of it, Soren was interested in seeing it for himself. As many reports as he could read, he wanted to know what it was like face-to-face.

"It's been in Daein before, and I've heard that it flew from one town to another," Gatrie cut in cheerfully. Both he and Shinon were surprisingly sober, considering the alcohol that was on sale just on the other side of the town square. Gatrie had been almost as excited as Mist to see the balloon, and kept claiming that one of his (many) girlfriends had either seen it, been in one, or helped build one, depending on the time of day. Shinon had been quietly observing it, and Soren couldn't help but wonder what was going through the marksman's mind. As obnoxious and bothersome as the redhead could be, he also had some of the best eyes Soren knew of (on a beorc) and his insights could be helpful if the time came when Soren needed them.

"Really? But how does it even lift? The balloon is inflated and it isn't going anywhere!" Rolf complained. Soren doubted that he'd need to know about these new machines, but he wasn't about to be unprepared. After all, there were already reports of The White Hand using fireworks to burn down warehouses and set forests on fire in Gallia and even Crimea. _Someone creates something and another feels like it is his duty to turn it into a weapon._ Knowing Ike he'd be dismayed to know about the tension that still existed… But there was no way of knowing that, and Soren wasn't about to linger in the past. Not now at any rate.

"Yeah, but it's being held down by ropes, see?" Mia pointed them out, jumping up and down to see above the heads of taller men ahead of her. Rolf tilted his head, having no more luck seeing than her, before Shinon sighed and rolled his eyes. The redhead was maybe the exact opposite of Mist, being totally uninterested in the hot air balloon. His sharp eyes were scanning the crowd rather than the machine, Soren noticed. _What's he looking for? No one in their right mind would attack here and now of all places…_ Though none of the mercenaries were armed, of course. Why would they carry huge battle-axes and swords around with them in a civilian area?

"If you can't see, Rolf, go climb a tree. Or grow up some more and push your way past someone." Despite being in his twenties, now, Rolf seemed to have stopped growing at too-little feet and not-very-many inches. He wasn't Mist's height, but he wouldn't be challenging his master in the height department anytime soon. The greenette just scowled and rolled his eyes, the group finally finding a place where everyone could see comfortably. Or, well, almost everyone. Soren was almost the exact same height as five years ago, and while nobody had commented on his growth (or lack thereof) he knew he was running out of time. _At least that bastard Stefan has stopped trying to recruit me._ The trueblade hadn't actually contacted Soren at all in a few months. It was a bit of a welcome surprise and relief, so Soren wasn't concerned. He was glad that the man had finally given up.

"Boyd, where's the boys? I'll put Pollux on my shoulders and you can put Castor on yours," Mist offered, turning towards her husband. The greenette nodded towards Pollux, who was shyly looking around with his big brown eyes. Boyd then looked at Castor, who…. "Where's Castor? Boyd, where'd he go?" Castor was missing. Mia glanced around, as did Mist, the brunette starting to be frantic. Boyd was yelling about how the three-year old had been there moments before, holding his hand, and suddenly The Greil Mercenaries (or what was left of them) were falling into hysteria. _We can defeat crazed kings and a mad goddess, but we lose a child and suddenly the world is ending._ Soren couldn't help but find something mildly amusing about the situation, though he did look around and started for a busy market street, deciding it looked like something a hungry child might go for.

Boyd, meanwhile, was wandering through the crowd, using his sheer strength and force of will to push people away as he looked for a no-doubt panicking and worried child. _Mist is going to kill me. Mist is going to kill me. I am going to need to write a will. I am going to die. Mist is going to kill me. _That was the greenette's train of thought as he ran around, trying to look for that light green hair and familiar excited little boy. Despite events like this Boyd wasn't that bad of a father, he just wasn't cut out for three-year old twins with a combined energy of Rolf after too much sugar.

"Boyd! I was wondering when I'd run into you." Boyd stopped short and blinked in surprise, seeing his older brother with a smiling Castor on his shoulders, pulling lightly on his uncle's hair. "Kieran, come over here! Oh, no, don't attack someone!" Oscar frowned momentarily as his friend almost tackled someone who was "looking at him funny" but the redhead walked back over, hitting Boyd on the back in a rough, if friendly, manner. "Is Mist around here, then?" Oscar asked, Boyd nodding in reply. Kieran motioned for Oscar to let him see Castor, who was excited to see the redhead. While Mist had been a little worried about Kieran spending too much time with the twins, Castor loved the man and would listen to all of his stories with attention only a three-year old could summon. Pollux was more likely to fall asleep (not like Kieran noticed).

"What are you two doing here? Just enjoying a day off?" Boyd asked as Oscar carefully lifted Castor off his shoulders and into the hands of Kieran, who started to swing the greenette around and generally fool around. Oscar shook his head and pointed towards where a tall, blue-haired man and his green-haired wife were watching the events with smiles on their faces. Boyd nodded in understanding. Plain clothes aside, it wouldn't take a genius to realize the queen and her husband were at an event like this. "Ah, I see. Still, it's a sight to see, isn't it?" Boyd mentioned above Castor's squealing of joy as Kieran started to tickle him. The redhead had finally found someone with his same level of energy and enthusiasm. Oscar was about to reply when there was a loud scream.

"Everyone move away!" It was another familiar voice. What was Soren shouting about? Boyd and Oscar exchanged a look, as Kieran was suddenly all business. The redhead passed Boyd his son and the trio took off towards the sound of the shout, people gladly moving out of the way of the three heavily built men. When they got there it was already over, a small circle of people who were just watching as Gatrie tackled one last person to the ground, Shinon literally standing with one foot on another. Titania's hand was covered in blood but it wasn't hers; stumbling around was a man holding his nose and eventually sitting down, looking around at the faces of war-torn mercenaries and professional knights. Elincia and Geoffrey made their way through the crowd, someone shouting for everyone to make way for the royals.

"Whom are you working with?" Soren asked coldly, suddenly seeming a lot taller as he glared at the man with the broken nose. There was a shake of his head and Soren let out a sigh, looking like he would punch the man himself if he thought it would do anything. He noticed the royals and gave them a curt nod, which was about as social as Soren got when it came to half-strangers. "Queen Elincia, King Geoffrey. I hope neither of you are hurt." They both nodded and walked forward, followed closely by Lucia and Bastian who were both pushing their way through the crowd. Elincia regarded the citizens carefully, before smiling slightly at them.

"I would hope that this celebration is able to continue without me. Knights! Take these men prisoner! We will ride back to the capital." Elincia glanced around before quickly crossing the small circle and stopping in front of Soren, who was backed by Titania and an ever-sour looking Shinon. "Soren. Titania." Elincia nodded politely to both of them, though only Titania gave her a small bow. "I would hope that I would be able to talk with you afterwards?" Titania and Soren exchanged looks and the black-haired man nodded once. That was all the approval the redhead needed from the tactician.

"Of course, my queen."

* * *

The meeting was small, just Titania, Soren, and the two royals. Despite that the Crimean Royal Knights surrounded the entire inn, though the queen was using only one room. Understandably everyone was a little shaken by the sudden attack, though it was both poorly planned and terribly executed. Soren toyed with the idea that the three men were working alone, but he doubted that such a small group would attack such a busy, high profile event. Then again, there was no way a group like The White Hand would be so sloppy and _not_ notice several members of The Greil Mercenaries walking around. Regardless of whether or not they had their weapons, they weren't harmless by any means.

"I would like to hire you again to help deal with these people. They are growing even more bold than before and while this was less than successful we can't let them continue." Elincia frowned as she thought about it. The White Hand had made empty threats but had been able to carry through with some of it, especially harassing laguz attempting to travel to areas outside of Gallia and the bird nation. While the anti-laguz sentiment was not nearly as bad as it used to be, that didn't mean that Begnion or even Crimea was waiting with arms wide open.

"I accept." Soren didn't even wait for Titania's approval. For most of the technical decisions she left it to him anyway. It wasn't like she was bad at it, or even disliked paperwork, but he was just much better and even _liked_ doing it at times. It was certainly a good reason to be left alone. "I assume you want us to check some known areas and clear out any White Hand members we find?" Geoffrey blinked in mild surprise, not as used to dealing with Soren as Elincia was. Even then the queen glanced at Titania, the redhead nodding discreetly.

"Yes. I will send the knights to patrol the Begnion border, but it would help if you could cover the Daein border." There had been some arguments over the mountain range that was technically controlled by Begnion until a few years ago, when the nation agreed to let Crimea take half and Daein the other half. It created a small border between the two nations, and while it was rarely patrolled (being uninhabited mountain ranges) it was suspected that The White Hand was hiding in the caves there, though no matter how many men either nation sent there, nothing could be found. "I also would like to know if you would be interested in a longer contract, on the chance that we encounter larger resistance than we expect." Elincia exchanged a glance with Geoffrey, making Soren think this meeting had been planned for a while. "I also would like to send a telegram to Micaiah, to inform her about these proceedings."

"Yes, of course. For now, however, we will work for a few weeks to keep the border secure. We can discuss price later, my queen. I'm certain that Mist will want to go home and put the twins to their afternoon nap," Titania replied with a small smile. The day had taken a lot out of everyone, really, and Elincia looked thankful to be able to discuss payment at a later date. She nodded and stood from her seat, as did Geoffrey. They all shook hands; even Soren, though he seemed to do it more out of obligation to a good client rather than out of friendship or admiration for the two.

"I hope you have a good day, you two." With that, Soren just watched in silence as Elincia and Geoffrey walked out of the room. There was a pause and then you could hear the knights getting ready to move out. _No doubt Boyd will want to see his brother off… And that includes Rolf, Mist, great…._ Soren didn't like having to wait but he knew better than to try to get the mercenaries to move out. With any luck Shinon and Gatrie would be drunk in a bar, despite it only being the afternoon. And then Mia would try to convince him to stay and eat in the town instead of back at the base…

"Let Rolf and Boyd see their brother off but then we're leaving. If Shinon and Gatrie are drunk leave them; they can handle themselves." Titania nodded and left the inn, the doors slamming after her. Soren was about to follow, having no other reason to remain inside (even if he did leave nobody would make him interact with other people), when the doors opened and closed again, and a familiar woman with long blue-purple was standing in front of him, arms on her hips and a smile on her face. "Mia…" Soren trailed off, unsure of how to put it. Their relationship since Ike left had always been a little hard to describe, but even more so now.

"Hiya, Soren! Are we going to be sticking around? We should get something to eat!" _But of course. Does she really think I'd waste money buying food when I can just go back to the fort and eat there? I'm not even hungry… _Soren sighed and shook his head, trying to walk past her and ignore the pout that she adopted without a moment's hesitation. At this point he didn't even know if it was real or faked. If it was fake it was a very good fake. "Aw, but Sor-en! We haven't eaten out at a real café or restaurant in months," Mia complained, referring to the mercenaries in general rather than just the two of them. Soren didn't really care either way and just rolled his eyes.

"Mia. We are about to deal with The White Hand, the largest and most dangerous group of anti-laguz in the entire continent. I am not going to spend another hour in this town if I can avoid it." Soren was the kind of person who liked his comfort. He took comfort in similar surroundings and being alone and _not_ fighting for his life every single moment. So no, while the extra money would be welcome he was not looking forward to running around Crimea again, looking for some anti-laguz fools intent on destroying a hard-earned peace. Then again, things hadn't been truly peaceful for a while… But that was beside the point.

"Now come on, let's go make sure the others are ready to go."

* * *

Soren adjusted his oil lamp, not wanting to waste any of the light but loathing to leave these reports for later, especially if the group would be moving out soon. Candles were reliable enough but didn't give off as bright a light, plus that would require him to look for something to light the candle with in the first place. He wasn't planning on staying up too late, since he would want to be fresh to get the rest of the mercenaries up (especially Shinon and Gatrie, who had decided to go for drinks and only stumbled back to the fort at dinner and passed out without eating a bite).

"Soren? May I come in?" Mia gently opened the door to Soren's bedroom and he resisted the urge to mention that she was, technically, already "in". She was the only one who decided that knocking wasn't needed when disturbing him. Well, there had been another blue-haired sword-wielder, but he was gone now. He had left a long time ago, and Soren was doing his best not to let that control him. He sighed and nodded, turning around and looking at her coolly, unsure of what he wanted to do now about her. He wouldn't deny that her friendship and support, especially in the few months directly after Ike left, had been incredibly helpful. He even didn't find her as bothersome as he used to, but… What could he call these developments in their relationship? What even _was_ their relationship?

"What do you want to talk about?" Soren asked, doubting it was just another one of her friendly visits. Usually she talked to him during the day, when they were eating or training. They were friends. Kind of. Soren believed that was what people called it. Mia shrugged and looked around before biting her lip, wanting to say something but obviously not knowing how to put it. Or maybe she just wanted to see how he was doing after he roughly turned her down that afternoon. "Listen, Mia. I'm sorry about this afternoon, but…" Soren let out a tired sigh and yawned, standing up from his seat.

"I know, you don't like people so don't worry about it. You just need to relax more, y'know? Take some time off. Relax." Soren had heard this before, from plenty of people. And, no doubt, he would hear it more as his life went on. However he could not just "relax" when there were things to do, even if those things were just a little bit of inventory and paperwork. Payments had to be made, weapons bought, and moral kept up. When your jobs ranged from finding lost livestock to beating back groups of well train anti-laguz idiots, you never knew what you'd be facing.

"Is that all you wanted to say?" Soren curtly replied, not really in the mood to entertain someone. Now that he was away from his desk he just wanted to turn his lamp off and go to bed, not talk to Mia about something he would much rather avoid. Mia shook her head and Soren sighed, cutting her off before she could even begin. "Mia. I told you before; I don't think a relationship besides friendship would work between us. Besides, we're co-workers." _And I'm not technically beorc_. Not like Mia knew that, though it would become soon. "And before you bring up Titania and Mist, that's different. Boyd isn't as good a fighter and is more distracted. Rhys and Titania are almost inseparable. So no, things _are_ changed when you're in a relationship." Mia frowned, though, at this point, Soren didn't care.

"So you at least admit that you have considered me in something other than a friend position?" Now it was Soren's turn to frown as he walked over to his door and opened it.

"That is beside the point." Mia closed the door, leaning against it, her long nightshirt and pants pooling on the floor. "Mia. We have had this conversation before and my answer is not going to change." She scowled in one of the rare times she wasn't smiling or excited.

"Then when will it? Soren, we've been dancing around this for _years_." Soren wished that she was exaggerating, but the trueblade was telling the truth. He just remained silent as she glared at him before letting out a sigh and rubbing the back of her head. "I guess I'll just have to wait until you get used to the idea of liking someone?" She left quietly before he could say anything else. He frowned, unsure of what he was feeling. He just walked over to his oil lamp and turned it off, getting into his bed and letting out a sigh.

_Do I like her? Have I liked her for a while?... Why can't there be books on relationships?_

* * *

Boyd yawned as Mist returned from tucking the boys into their shared bed, in the room that used to be Oscar's. Castor and Pollux were both completely exhausted from the chaotic day, despite having an afternoon nap. Castor was always a little more worn out after seeing Kieran, while Pollux got along better with Uncle Oscar rather than the redhead. The brown-haired young woman silently slipped into the bed next to Boyd, snuggling up next to him. He easily slung his arms around her, pulling her into a warm grasp. It was hard to believe that they were married _and_ parents sometimes. It wasn't been easy but it certainly was fun, if crazy at the same time. Boyd knew, no matter how much be might complain to others, that he wouldn't trade his little family for the world.

"We're leaving tomorrow." Mist's voice seemed to echo in the otherwise quiet room. Boyd mumbled something that could have been agreement or complaint. He was half-asleep, not really paying attention to what was going on. "Boyd… I want to bring the boys." Ok, now the greenette was awake. Usually the mercenaries didn't all go somewhere at the same time, so there was always _someone_ to watch over the twins. At three years old they hardly needed to be with Mist, but it was very much preferred. And, well, they got themselves into al sorts of trouble, usually with Castor getting Pollux to join him in whatever crazy scheme the greenette had planned.

"But… We're going to be fighting." Boyd shifted so he could look at Mist, who was completely serious about this. She nodded, as if telling him to get to the point. "And what if something happens to you? Or to one of them?" Boyd swallowed. He wasn't the world's best dad, he knew, but he was doing his best. And letting his entire family march up to the most dangerous group around? Uh, yeah, not happening. Mist had other plans. The brunette softly jabbed her husband in the stomach. "Mi-st! I'm being honest here! I don't want anything to happen to you guys," Boyd complained.

"I know, and nothing will. I've got you and Rolf and even Soren, not to mention the others. They wouldn't let anything happen." Boyd scowled. True or not that was beside the point.

"And what happens if we get attacked in camp and you get captured protecting them?" Mist rolled her eyes, even if she did find his worries a little cute.

"I wouldn't get captured and Gatrie and Shinon would have to drag you off the person who lay a finger on me. Relax, Boyd. Nothing will happen when I've got you around." She kissed him gently on the lips and smiled, the greenette returning it warmly. It was moments like this that made him glad that he was married.

* * *

Titania smiled as Rhys blew out the candle, letting the moonlight fall in despite the thin piece of cloth that served to cover up the window. The temperature was nice and the night was quiet so they both enjoyed seeing part of nature in the fort. The two redheads cuddled together, though it was a little hard since Rhys was actually shorter than the paladin. They were used to it, though, and easily fell into a comfortable hold that made them both feel secure. Most nights were like this, nowadays. With the marriage coming up they both agreed to wait, and even then Titania wasn't sure she wanted to have children after seeing the amount of chaos two could do.

"Are you sure about this?" Rhys asked, as he usually did on nights when something dangerous and random happened to the mercenaries, like that time a charging bull almost took Boyd out for a month, or that disastrous day when Kieran almost burned the entire fort down while trying to beat (read: impress) Oscar in cooking. Mercenary life was not easy, and Titania had already lost one person who was close to her through death. And, well, Rhys' health problems weren't exactly a secret. It was one thing to have your love die in the middle of an epic battle or at the end of a glorious career; it was a whole other to be struck down by sickness when you should otherwise be alive and kicking.

"Yes, Rhys. I'm sure. I know what I'm doing and I will have no regrets." Rhys felt her grip on him tighten just a little.

"No matter what?" She smiled, and though she couldn't see it, she knew he was too.

"No matter what." Rhys swallowed and nodded, shifting his head to kiss her softly before smiling back. "I love you, Rhys. And maybe it wasn't the easiest path, and maybe it won't be a very clean one either, but I know you'll always be there." Titania took a deep breath and let it out in a content sigh. "No matter how many times I come to you bleeding out, you always save me. You've never let me down and you never will." That was certainly true. Out of all the mercenaries the only person who needed to be healed as much as Titania was Boyd, and he always went to Mist if he could (not like Rhys was complaining).

"And I can always count on you to watch my back, right?" Rhys asked, though he already knew the answer.

"Of course, Rhys." She kissed the top of his head before shifting so they were in their original position, comfortable just lying like this. There was a moment of silence as he wondered just how lucky he was in order to get someone just this wonderful. It was not the first time he found himself thanking the goddess for her mercy. Despite the war against her all those years ago he still was able to find a place for her in his heart, though Titania's part was much, much bigger.

"I love you, Titania."

"And I love you, Rhys. Now go to sleep and relax. We're going to have a long day ahead of ourselves."

**A/N; This is just an idea that I've had around my head for quite a while. It's going along at a decent speed so you should expect updates every week, give or take a few days depending on my real-life work-load. With that being said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will stay to read the chapters ahead. Thank you~**


	2. Chapter 2

The morning light filtered through the grand windows in the castle, fluttering down and illuminating the all too-big hall that Skrimir called home, rather than intimidating. No, the vast size of the place had nothing on how scary a certain orange-haired, purple-eyed cat laguz could be when she wanted to. Or, well, at any given moment in the day. It wasn't so much that Skrimir was scared for his own well-being as much as he was scared for another cat laguz that was going to get hell if he ever showed up again. Which he would, of course. All the negative talk about him being gone forever or dead was just bad for moral and complete lies. Skrimir didn't listen to them at all. Mostly. Ok, maybe a little.

"Lyre hasn't come back either…. She's supposed to give a report today, right? Have we received any news from her group?" Lethe asked, pacing back and forth, a bundle of energy just needing to be let out. Or, no, not energy. A bundle of nerves that needed to hear that her little sister was ok, in Daein, and still looking for the bastard Ranulf. _When he comes back I'll give him an earful about how a good cat never abandons his leader… Once Lethe, Kyza, and Lyre are done with him._ "We should install those damn telegraph lines… Ugly or not they'll help us gets news faster…" Skrimir made a face. It used to be that news took several days, at best, to cross the continent. Now it took maybe a day of telegrams crossing those horrible looking poles to get from Daein's deserts to Begnion's costal towns.

"The news will come, Lethe. Calm down; you aren't doing anyone any good by being so tense." Skrimir, as well as most laguz, found the idea of all this new technology deplorable. After all, there was nothing wrong with the way things used to be done, and foot messengers didn't require poles with wires to be strung across an entire continent. Tibarn and Reyson especially turned down any offer to set up a system through Serenes, though the bird tribe had never had issues getting news from place to place, since they had wings. "How is Kyza doing?" Lethe made a sound of annoyance, shaking her head.

"He's a mess, of course. He doesn't even have Lyre to complain to. He's running his recruits extra hard but nobody is complaining. You might want to make sure he doesn't accidently kill anyone though." Skrimir made a mental note to send Godric down to run some laps too, right after telling Kyza to take a day and give the new recruits some breathing space. The lion didn't want anyone to die before they actually got in the army, after all. It would be bad for moral, though it would certainly make sure that only the toughest got in… "When will the messenger get here?" Skrimir sighed.

"He'll be here soon. You know how those beorc are." The nearest village to the castle was in Crimea, and the local people were all too happy to help run messages to Gallia, especially after a particularly wet summer almost trapped the town in without supplies and the Crimean Knights were on the other side of the country. Ranulf had gone personally to help dig the people out and they loved him and his men. That was before the cat had gone on a typical run to Daein and never made it. As far as anyone could tell he disappeared somewhere on the border between Crimea and Daein (this was after Begnion gave up the mountain range) but all search parties turned up empty.

"Yes but does it usually take him this long? And what if Lyre hasn't been able to get a message through?" Lethe was still pacing back and forth, restless. Lyre had been leading yet another group of volunteers, all wanting to find their captain again, despite the fact that it had been several months since the disappearance. The only reason Skrimir hadn't gone himself was that his uncle held him back, and that his younger brother had come and joined him in the capital for "training" or whatever they were calling it. A total distraction and pain in the tail was what Skrimir liked to call him.

"She will. She has sent us an update every week for the past month. She will not stop now." Lethe frowned and stopped pacing, her ears twitching. Skrimir frowned but stopped talking, wondering what she was hearing. There was the soft pad of feet, but that was always there, just from the castle being busy dealing with other nations and internal problems. "What is it?" Skrimir was always being told he was too impatient to be very good at just listening and smelling, but his nose and ears were too used to the sounds of the castle in order to pick out whatever Lethe was focused on. "Is it dangerous?" Lethe shook her head. She even managed what looked like a small smile.

"No, it's—"

"Someone spar with me! I'm bored!" A lion, with the same red hair as Skrimir, dashed into the room, his long locks pulled back in a ponytail, deep emerald eyes shining with excitement and challenge against life in general. "I'm bored! Brother, spar with me! Or tell someone to do it! I want to try out my new moves!" Skrimir held back a sigh and fought the urge to let out a roar of frustration. His younger brother hadn't been old enough to fight in either of the last two wars and yet was constantly pretending he had, making up wild stories about how he struck down the Black Knight or the goddess herself. Everyone tolerated him for one reason: he was Skrimir's brother and that meant only one person was allowed to mess with the younger lion: Skrimir himself.

"Godric! Control yourself!" Like that was going to work. Godric just glanced at his older brother being doing a cartwheel over to Lethe and giving her a huge grin. He was less mature than his appearance gave him credit for, though even in that department he resembled a ten-year old beorc, so Skrimir figured he had to give Godric _some_ break, but there was no way he had been _that_ bad at that age (actually Skrimir had been about the same, if not worse, though nobody bothered to point that out). "Are you certain that you don't have something better to do?" _Like not bother me?_ Godric just did a handstand, face looking at his brother and giving him a completely innocent look. Skrimir had, in many ways, inherited most of the bulk and size of a lion, and while Godric could still pass off as a lion he was built more like a tiger with the personality of a cat after having too much catnip.

"But I'm bo-red! And I don't have anything else to do!" Godric moaned, standing up and letting out an exaggerated sigh. Skrimir and Lethe exchanged looks. Their talk was going to have to wait a while.

"You want to spar? I'll take you on! But remember, when I train, it's with the claws out!"

* * *

"Soren! Is something wrong? Want everyone to slow—"

"No, Mia, I'm fine. I just didn't sleep as well as I had hoped." That was an understatement. Soren had spent the whole night wondering about his relationship with Mia, ending up with only a few hours of sleep before he had to get up and rally the rest of the mercenaries. In a rare occurrence they were awake before he was fully awake, and even Gatrie seemed to have recovered from his hangover in time to strap on his armor and get going. Shinon, not so much, but the marksman didn't complain too loudly, though that could have been because his head was pounding too much.

"Well if you need any help, I'm here for you!" Mia wasn't going away that easily, and they both knew it. Soren didn't even care that much about her moving away, just so long as she didn't harass him every few steps about needing help. This march was nothing he couldn't handle, and even if everyone else's legs had grown longer and his hadn't that was no excuse to be falling behind… Which he wasn't! Thus Mia's point was null and void. Except for the fact that, well, Titania used to be in view but now she wasn't, and everyone else was going around that turn and he still had a fair way's to go. Huffing he forced himself to speed up, lugging around all of his equipment on his back. He wasn't as strong as most of the others, and he lacked a Boyd or Titania to dump all of the heavier things off on. He used to be unable to _stop_ Ike from carrying half of his things, but well… The blue-haired hero was nowhere in sight.

"I know that, but don't you think it would be better to stay up ahead in case they run into trouble? I don't trust Shinon and Gatrie to be nearly as alert as they should be." Mia snorted, pretty obviously trusting the two men as far as she could throw them. That is, with their hangovers. Otherwise even Shinon wouldn't go so low as to let the mercenaries get attacked. He had no love for Ike (or really _anyone_ in the group, except maybe Rolf and possibly Gatrie) but that wasn't an issue. It was more that he knew the mercenaries would get out of it and, if it were his fault, there would be hell to pay.

"As hung-over as they are, I'm sure it'll be fine. Boyd and Titania are there too, and Rolf has gotten a lot better over the years." Yes, Rolf was a young man all right, and Soren had the sinking feeling that he might be leaving the mercenaries for other work soon. _I should look for someone else to hire._ Then, right after that thought: _will I even be here in a year? Surely someone is going to suspect something…_ Soren frowned, though that was not an unusual sight to see on the archsage's face. "And besides, what would we do if our tactician was ambushed and none of us were able to save him?" Mia joked, knowing that Soren would be able to keep himself safe. There were few mages that could match the man in question. Then again, just because he could fight off your ordinary bandits alone didn't mean anyone was going to let him, least of all Mia.

"I'm not very good company. You'd enjoy yourself better if you were talking to Mist or Titania," Soren tried instead, going down a different route. Mia rolled her eyes and was about to say something else when the sound of a horse trotting on the road reached their ears. Soren looked around to realize that they had both, in their chatter, fallen behind the others and now Titania was riding back to look for them… Though the expression on her face was far too worried to simply be wondering where the two happened to be. "Is something wrong?" Soren called ahead. Titania nodded and covered the rest of the distance, pulling her horse to a stop right ahead of the duo.

"There's something you're going to want to see. Ride back with me?" Soren nodded and accepted Titania's help up on her horse, ignoring Mia muttering something about him letting anyone but her aid him. The man did look back at her and then at Titania. "Mia, run to catch up. We'll need you there for security. Boyd is going bonkers." Soren was now worried. Mia nodded seriously as the paladin took off without another word, Soren clinging onto the saddle for dear life. Usually he didn't mind his small size all that much, but this was one of those occasions when a few extra inches and some extra pounds of muscle wouldn't be too bad. "Boyd found him when he was going ahead to check after we saw some blood on the road. It's all cleaned up but there was a pretty fierce battle here recently, so you've been warned." Soren nodded. He had seen plenty of things others were disgusted at. There was no way a minor altercation between maybe some bandits arguing over loot would get to him. But why was Titania so bothered?

"Is someone hurt?" Soren's question went unanswered as the woman slowed her horse down, dismounting easily and helping Soren down right after. Rhys walked over, heal staff out and shook his head. The archsage felt his blood run cold. Even if these people did annoy and harass him to no end, Ike had entrusted their security to him. Titania might run the Greil Mercenaries, but Soren was the one who made sure that everything was going smoothly so that there was still a group to be run. Ike had made Soren promise to serve her like the Branded had served the hero, and that was a promise Soren was going to keep.

"Not one of ours. Soren, can you please follow me?" Rhys asked gently, only turning once the man had nodded. The redhead led Soren into a small shaded area underneath some trees, where Boyd was looking around with his axe out. Mist was putting a few herbs on a person's injuries. Or, perhaps person was too loose of a term to describe the injured in question. A cat laguz with dark green hair lay on the makeshift pallet, moaning and turning around, opening his wounds as soon as Mist could close them. He was babbling nonsense that Soren couldn't make heads or tails of, and he was quite sure it wasn't Ancient Language or the modern tongue. It was complete nonsense and Soren wasn't going to waste his time trying to understand it.

"What should we do?" Boyd asked, looking a little jumpy. For a laguz with these injuries to still be alive, he had to have been attacked sometime in the night, at latest. Soren didn't like the idea of just staying there, but the fact that a laguz had been attacked was puzzling, but the uniform… As covered in blood as it was, he still recognized it. It was from Gallia's soldiers. This cat had been trained and was probably with a group, and yet all that was left were bloodstains. This was no ordinary bandit group. "Do you think it was The White Hand?" As much as Soren didn't want to encounter that anti-laguz group this early in the mission, he had a feeling that he wasn't going to have much of a choice.

"Boyd, set up camp a little farther into the forest, in an easily defendable spot. Get everyone but Mia to help you. Send her to me. Rhys, you stay with the laguz and make sure he stays alive. Any news of change in condition get someone to tell me right away." Soren quickly thought over anything else that he might need to be done and frowned. "Also, tell Titania to take a quick look around to see if there are any other survivors. I want everyone to be alert. Put Rolf in a tree somewhere to act as a guard." Boyd nodded and quickly scampered off, shouting at the top of his lungs what everyone was supposed to do. Mist followed him, leaving the herbs for Rhys, who looked at his newest patient and frowned briefly.

"Soren, he can't stay here. His wounds might get infected and then we will probably not be able to save him." Soren's frown deepened a little. That would have to wait until a few tents were set up, but how long was that going to be? Seeing the look on Soren's face, Rhys decided to add, "It can wait but he will have to move eventually… And I'll want someone a little more gentle than Boyd or Gatrie to help me move him." Soren nodded. He could understand that; if he was bleeding out on the forest floor the last people he'd want carrying him were probably those two, with Shinon following close behind.

"All right. Oh, Mia, thanks for coming. I'm going to need you to run to the queen. She needs to be told that a group of Gallian warriors were attacked and that we have all the survivors, but Gallia no doubt will want to send their own men to investigate." Mia raised an eyebrow, looking a little confused. Soren knew what he was saying but, well, he wanted her out of his hair and he needed _someone_ to tell Elincia what was going on. While he liked telegrams he also didn't trust them, and this message was too important to trust on unreliable poles that were often knocked down in storms. And Soren was not about to send Titania, horse or not. He needed her with him to keep everyone in line. "Please, Mia. We can't risk that the telegraph lines are knocked down." She hesitated but nodded, sighing.

"I know, Soren. So tell her that some Gallian warriors were attacked and we have the survivor?" Soren nodded and Mia gave him a small smile. No doubt she had some idea what he was trying to do, but at least there was a legitimate reason. "All right. I'll be there before you know it, and I'll come back in a flash!" Without any other warning she took off down the road, Soren wanting to shout after her to _be careful_ and to _not die_ and _to come back without being hurt!_ But he didn't. He wanted to, but he resisted the urge.

_Be careful, Mia. You're the closest thing I have to a friend._

* * *

The forest was always nice this time of day, the sun high in the sky but the afternoon heat not yet forcing everyone to go inside or look for a good patch of solid shade. It wasn't like Naesala disliked the inside palace of Serenes Forest, but it certainly had nothing on the amazing nature that surrounded it. That was what his beautiful wife Leanne thought too, of course, and she was more than happy to watch their son run rings around poor Nealuchi as the elderly raven amused and "played" with Beelze, the young raven stumbling around as much as he could on his small legs. His laguz blood hadn't kicked in and, without his wings and slowed growth, he could even pass off as a beorc.

"It is nice out, yes?" Leanne tried, still working on her modern tongue. She was still used to speaking in the Ancient Language, having very little use for every day modern language when she could spend most of her time with other laguz. Naesala nodded, smiling warmly at him. He was glad that he wasn't king anymore. Diplomat might be a little less glorious, but he was fine never fighting again. He had been able to avoid it for the last five years, and he was fine avoiding it for the rest of his life. "Beelze looks happy." Naesala nodded, shifting where he was sitting on the stone bench.

"It is very nice out, yes. And you look happy too." Naesala softly kissed her cheek and Leanne giggled, still just as innocent as she used to be five years ago. Beelze let out a cheerful squeal as he almost caught a small insect, holding up his empty hands so Nealuchi could see and nod. The bird might be older than life itself but he still enjoyed spending time with the young boy. "Your brother and Tibarn are coming today, remember?" Leanne nodded eagerly and squeezed Naesala's arm. Of course she remembered! She had been getting ready for the entire week, as the couple was spending that month in their Serenes home instead at Kilvas. In all honest, Naesala had seen enough of desert cliffs to last him a lifetime.

"Sister! Naesala. Nealuchi." Reyson gave them all a small nod, Leanne smiling widely at her brother. The two ravens both nodded back as Beelze realized he was being left out and attempted to run over to Reyson, skidding and slipping on the leaves coating the ground. He gently fell onto his butt, but rather than crying he giggled childishly and started playing with the leaves, completely forgetting his Uncle Reyson. The heron in question just smiled slightly at the sight, glancing behind him to see the Hawk King muttering curses under his breath. "Tibarn, is that really the best reaction you can have?" The hawk scowled and crossed his arms in annoyance.

"Them damn pirates are making the rest of the bird tribes look like bastards! The lot of 'em will be down to three feathers once I get my hands on them!" Naesala frowned, standing. He had heard that the rouge bands of ex-pirate laguz were up to no trouble, but he didn't know it was getting even worse. Most of the pirates were hawk laguz, though a few stragglers were ravens. The entire bird nation knew what Tibarn would do once he found the pirates, and, having been on the receiving end of that anger before, Naesala wondered what must be going through those thick skulls. "I'll beat them senseless and drop 'em off a cliff somewhere on Kilvas!"

"Tibarn, your language is bad for Beelze." Leanne pursed her lips, part of her understanding that the phrasing wasn't that good. "I mean to say… Beelze is still young, yes? So you must watch your words." Tibarn scowled but didn't say anything, even when Naesala shot him a toothy grin. Reyson rolled his eyes and stepped in, picking Beelze up off the ground and handing him to his mother. Leanne started cooing to the young raven in the Ancient Language, though how much of it he understood Naesala didn't know.

"Naesala, have you heard that the beorc are working on a new invention?" Reyson asked, changing the topic to something that Tibarn would (hopefully) have less to curse about. Naesala raised an eyebrow, shaking his head and running a hand through his hair. "It's supposed to be a small version of the firework. I believe they're calling it a firecracker." Tibarn raised a skeptical eyebrow and Naesala snorted, muttering to himself about how the beorc were going to end up blowing themselves up at this rate. "They're making it for _children_." Reyson clicked his tongue in disapproval. "It's not enough to get into two wars, but they must also give their young these things."

"I just think the beorc are letting this peace get to their heads." Naesala eyed his son carefully as he continued to speak. "Personally all these new inventions make my head spin. Printing presses? Telegrams? What's wrong with a good ol' scribe and some foot messengers?" Nealuchi nodded in agreement. The old laguz had seen a lot in his years, and even he was a little more than skeptical about all of these new things. "Besides. These hot air balloons. They're ridiculous. Even if they _can_ fly, which is a miracle of the goddess herself, why would anyone use it? I've heard you can't even control which direction it goes in!" Tibarn shrugged, opening his mouth to say something about the idiocy of beorc when Leanne cut in with surprising un-heron like force.

"And what of these fireworks? What if a beorc burns the forest again?" She hung onto Beelze tighter, and Naesala gave her a comforting smile as he sat back down and pulled both of them into a hug, which was about as sappy as the raven was going to get in front of others. Leanne asked something in the Ancient Language and it took Naesala a moment to translate it, his own language skills being a little rusty.

"It won't happen because I won't let it. And I won't let something happen to you or Beelze, on my life." Naesala kissed her cheek and his son's forehead, Tibarn rolling his eyes but looking pleasantly surprised to see the raven was up to fatherhood. Reyson, for his part, looked torn between cutting in or letting his sister be comforted. It had been hard enough letting _Naesala_ of all people court her, and the marriage had been a practically nightmare for the male heron (and most of the bird laguz, since Naesala, Tibarn, and Reyson were all dedicated to making it the best ceremony on Tellius) but it was worth it. Mostly. Even if he had forgiven Naesala for selling him off those years ago, it was still annoying to call him brother-in-law.

"Besides, even the most stupid beorc won't burn Serenes to the ground."

* * *

Soren was on edge. He didn't have all of his books with him, since they were just plain annoying to carry around, but it was time like these that made him wish that he could anyway. He had thought through every poison he knew of, looked up some rarest ones, and still couldn't find something that would account for the strange way the laguz was acting. Rhys had finally been able to move him into a tent but the green-haired cat kept thrashing about, opening up his wounds until Rhys finally just pulled out a mend staff and healed the injuries fully. Soren quietly bemoaned the loss of one use against a stranger, but he knew it would be bad if the cat died within his (or, well, the mercenaries') care.

But the laguz. They had no idea of his name, rank, or really why he was in Crimea (and going to Daein) at all. Soren was left guessing, and even he wasn't sure what Gallia would have with the two beorc kingdoms that couldn't be sent by telegram… Assuming the beast laguz even used telegrams. Soren wouldn't be surprised if the creatures just decided to ignore all of the new technology. He didn't hate the laguz as much as he used to, but there were some things that could not be ignored no mater how many years passed. He let out a sigh and shook his head, rubbing his eyes as they swam with words and side-affects that didn't fit.

"Soren!" The shout pierced the air and the man was already grabbing his spell book, elwind in his mind, standing up from his seat as Rolf dashed into his tent. "Soren! You'll want to hear this; the laguz is talking." Soren nodded, letting his tome fall back onto his desk and letting the words to elwind die down. He quickly followed Rolf out of his tent and followed him into Rhys', where the redhead was sharing with the laguz. "Shinon… Shinon said he heard something." Rolf frowned, but in more of a worried than a doubting way. "He said he heard… The feral ones." Soren felt his blood run cold, as the tent flap was held open for him.

"That's impossible," the Branded muttered to himself. The last of that twisted experiment had been destroyed five years ago; right after the war Micaiah had ordered that any of the notes or substances were destroyed and the remains brought into the desert to be removed from Tellius for good. He shook his head, remembering encountering some of the beasts himself. Even back then, when his hatred of the laguz was much stronger, the things he had seen were neither beorc nor laguz. They were… Twisted. Something else. "Shinon. Let me through." For once the redhead listened and moved aside, and Soren glanced around the room, wondering where Rhys was. "Where's—"

"Rhys was on break, I'll get him now." With that, Rolf dashed back out. Soren nodded and bit his lip, kneeling down next to the laguz, who was shivering frantically. His eyes were wide open, the light purple glancing to and from without actually seeing anything. His body was slick with sweat, his uniform still clinging to his body through dried blood and mud. The laguz was muttering something in hushed tones, switching from language to language, whatever he said being gibberish that Soren couldn't understand. Soren frowned and moved a little closer, trying to understand what the laguz was saying.

"… F…. A….. Kn…. Run…." Soren's frown deepened and he glanced at Shinon, who shrugged. The redhead was known for having good hearing and sight, but apparently he didn't understand anything now. "The…. Feral…. Coming…." There was a pause when the laguz went silent. "The feral ones!" Soren pulled back, scrambling in a rather undignified way as his ear was blasted by the sudden shout. Immediately after, Rhys ran into the tent with a sleep staff and looked at Soren, the crystal at the top of the staff already glowing. Soren nodded; he had heard all that he needed to know. Standing up the black-haired man glanced at Shinon, who looked like he would ignore Soren's moment of panic in favor of actually taking the situation seriously for once in his life.

"… Rhys, stay here and watch over him please. Shinon, come with me. I want to talk to you and Titania anyway." The redhead raised an eyebrow but nodded, walking out of the tent, followed by Soren. Except for Gatrie, who was stuck on watch duty, everyone was, more or less, waiting for Soren to say something about the laguz. Of course everyone had heard the shouts. Titania might be the head of the mercenaries, but Soren was still considered the brains of the group. Not like he minded, but it still gave him a weird sense of responsibility that he wasn't used to. Titania walked over and motioned for the others to go back to do whatever they had been doing.

"What happened, Soren? What do you think we should do?" Soren frowned, glancing at the sun. It was maybe late in the afternoon, which meant there wasn't all that much time to move the entire camp, especially since Mist was already starting dinner (which would take a while, considering she had to watch Pollux and Captor too). He wasn't even sure he _wanted_ to move the camp. As dangerously close to the original site of attack as they were, maybe it would lessen the chance that the patrol (or whatever had attacked the laguz) would come back. At the same time, if they were going to move they'd have to do it now or never. At times like these, Soren wished Ike was still there to make all of the important calls, even if the Branded would be advising the blunette all the way through.

"I think we need to stay here but be alert. I want everyone to be within shouting distance of the camp. Get as much firewood as possible before night falls and keep Rolf on the watch for a little longer." Soren glanced around, not seeing the man in question but having to trust the greenette to be in a good location. Now that he thought of it, someone else would probably have to take over soon. How long had Rolf been on watch? Who could replace him? Usually Soren would have sent Mia but, for obvious reasons, she wasn't available. _I'll have Gatrie do it next and then I'll take a watch… Mist'll want someone else to help cook and I want to give Rhys a break from watching the laguz… Though he isn't doing anything too hard so maybe I can keep him there until dinner._ Soren let out a breath.

"Anything else?" Titania questioned, about to leave to relay the orders. Soren hesitated but shook his head, and the redhead hurried off, stopping first at the small cooking fire and chatting with Mist and Boyd. Soren let out a deep breath before looking around, not seeing a certain marksman anywhere. Elincia needed to know about this and she needed to know _soon._

**A/N: Things are heating up! No huge battles so far, but you won't be waiting long… The feral ones are back! Who's creating them and what do they want? Well, come on! It's Fire Emblem! Nothing less than total control over everything! –insert evil laughter here- But ok, with all seriousness, you'll learn soon enough~ But before that, we'll have to visit one more country, one pretty familiar to Radiant Dawn fans: Daein. Thanks for the support so far! This chapter is a little early than planned but the next one is coming out pretty long... So! Hope you enjoyed this one! **


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